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Parenting is a process of encouraging and aiding the aspects of development of a child from infancy to adulthood. But the style of parenting also a reflection of culture, and its expectations in a role as a parent, the person who raises and cares for a relatively inexperienced being. Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse and Friar Laurence are similar characters, as they are both confidants and surrogate parents to Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. They provide advice to guide the star-crossed lovers, and relieve obstacles in Romeo and Juliet’s path in becoming a couple. However, their styles of parenting often do not comply with the laws and expectations of Marriage and Parenting of Shakespeare’s time period. The
The Nurse broke rules concerning Juliet’s imminent marriage with Paris. When Mr. Capulet and Lady Capulet, force Juliet to marry Paris, the Nurse’s response shocks Juliet. The nurse says, “Romeo is banished, and all the world to nothing/That he dares ne’er come back to challenge you,/Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth./Then, since the case so stands as now it doth,/I think it best you married with the County./O, he’s a lovely gentleman” (3.5.226). The Nurse, who originally helped Romeo and Juliet’s marriage, is supporting the side of forcing Juliet to marry Paris. However, parents are supposed to let their children have a say in marriage. According to The Ordering of Maides, Children should have some agreement to the marriage. The passage reads, “as their daughter may be best able to content, and be contented”. This contradicts what the Nurse, and the Capulets are doing toward Juliet. Finally, Friar Laurence also breaks some additional rules towards the end of the play. The Friar inevitably guides Romeo to his death, as he concocts the plan with the letter, without any leeway for error. According to The Ordering of Sonnes, parents must have authority over children’s rash decisions. The passage has, “but that one thing comes to my mind, which I have singled out, because I see much mischief comes thereupon: which is a kind of childish bravery” (194). While the passage may be a bit unclear, the underlying tone of the passage is exemplifying how children should be led away from mischief or “childish bravery”, such as Romeo committing suicide to be with Juliet. Friar Laurence caused the perfect positions for Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide, which is possibly a part of his ulterior motive to settle the dispute between the two families, as that was the outcome. However, it is unclear if Friar Laurence had any
Nurse has betrayed Juliet, she and Friar Lawrence were the two who knew and believed in Romeo and Juliet's love, and Nurse abandons Juliet in a way in this scene, telling her to marry Paris, and forget Romeo. I think that when she is saying this that she is thinking of herself, and of what she could lose if they were discovered, but at the same time she was thinking of Juliet's well-being, and that she would be safe in Verona, with Paris: "I think that you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first; or, if it did not, Your first is dead, or 'twere as good he were As living here and you no use of him. " Lady Capulet shows a very different love for her daughter to the love which Nurse shows her, she has hardly looked after Juliet for much of her life, and is distanced from her. Around the period of time when the play was set there was a social tradition for the upper classes to have a 'wet nurse'. It would not have been accepted in soc... ...
At this point the nurse now tries to step in and defend Juliet. She is very protective of Juliet as she treats Juliet like her own child and is more of a mother figure to Juliet than her own real mother Lady Capulet. Lord Capulet again reacts violently. I believe this is justified of Lord Capulet as the nurse should not get involved in family issues
The theme that the best designs can go awry is evident in many societies throughout the ages. In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse's actions exemplify this aphorism. She is cognizant of the draconian penalties that would befall the lovers if their forbidden love is uncovered. Because she loves Juliet and wants her to be happy, the Nurse decides to keep Romeo and Juliet's relationship a secret. By not informing Juliet's parents, the Nurse shows more fidelity to Juliet than to Lord and Lady Capulet. The Nurse’s assistance advances the lovers' relationship from an infatuation to a marriage, “I am the grudge, and toil in your delight;” (II. v. 75). Romeo and Juliet’s feelings for each other burgeon until the two become inseparable. Following Romeo's banishment and the announcement of Juliet and Paris's arranged marriage, Juliet seeks counsel from the Nurse as to what her next course of action should be. Benighted of the intensity of Juliet's feelings for Romeo, the Nurse tries to nullify Juliet's sadness by attempting to divert her...
“By my troth, it is well said. “For himself to mar,”/ Quoth he? Gentlemen, can any of you tell me where I may find the young Romeo?” (2.4.60). The Nurse was someone Juliet went to whenever she needed help, and The Nurse always delivered, but this time The Nurse helped her do something that was never thought about in the house of a Capulet, to marry a Montague.
The nurse should be excused for her actions in the play. Although she made the decision to help Juliet without the consent of her parents, she was thinking of Juliet’s happiness.... ... middle of paper ... ...
This shows that the Nurse is following orders from Juliet, because she thinks it will make Juliet happy. Although she does, she does not seem to be bothered about the damage she could cause in the future. This is one reason why the Nurse could be to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Another point in the play where the Nurse contributes to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is when the proposal of Paris comes along. At this stage in the play, Romeo has been banished.
In act one scene three of Romeo and Juliet Lord Capulet states “…She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” This means that Juliet is not quite fourteen years old and her father is not sure if she is ready to become a wife and mother. There are many differences between how people marry today, and how they married in the time of Romeo and Juliet. Some of the differences are when the people marry, why people marry, and also the level of maturity people marry at.
The Nurse’s job is take care of Juliet and raise her; however, upon learning that Juliet is romantically involved with their family’s enemy, she doesn’t provide any form of counsel to Juliet.” I must another way, To fetch a ladder by the which your love Must climb a bird 's nest soon when its dark.” (2.5.77-79). The Nurse aides Romeo by telling him a way to Juliet’s room showing her approval of the relationship. She did not provide any form of counsel to Juliet or inform Capulet or Lady Capulet about Juliet’s relationship. Due to the fact that the Nurse does not do her job and doesn’t tell Juliet to end her relationship with Romeo, it caused this ill-fated relationship to continue. To add to the issue, the Nurse later betrays Juliet when Juliet begs her for help. “I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first, or, if it did not, Your first is dead, or 'twere as good he were, As living here and you no use of him.” (3.5.226-238). The Nurse goes against her previous actions and expects Juliet to forget about Romeo by dispraising him. Juliet wants to remain faithful to her husband and this betrayal along with Capulet’s ultimatum causes Juliet to act hastily and want to die if she wasn’t with
First and foremost, following Juliet's refusal of the marriage with Paris, her father tells her that she is “one too much and that “ {he has} a curse in having her”(III. V. 166-167). Juliet considers her father's reaction as a form of abandonment. This strengthens her isolation from her parents. Juliet is also affected by the nurse's advice to marry Paris and thinks “it is more sin to wish {her} thus forsworn” (III. V. 237). Juliet is hurt by the unsettling advice the nurse gives her at difficult circumstances. This causes Juliet to isolate herself from the nurse and does not confide in her anymore. Besides the nurse, Friar Laurence also betrays Juliet at a critical moment by saying that “stay is not to question, for the watch is coming…{and he} dare{s} no longer stay”(V. III. 158-159) and leaves her. This abandonment influences Juliet's isolation from the friar. Since the Friar is one of her most trusted advisors, this heavily impacts Juliet. The betrayal of her trusted friends results in Juliet’s isolation from them.
When Juliet found out she was being forced to marry Paris, Juliet believed Nurse would be on her side about not marrying Paris but she was wrong. Because the Nurse knew that there was no other option, she advised, “I think it best you marry the County./ O, he’s a lovely gentleman!/ Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam, (3.5.219-221)” Nurse was trying to tell Juliet that Romeo isn’t here Paris is and he is way better looking than Romeo. Juliet felt betrayed and hurt for what the nurse said and yelled “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend (3.5.237)!”
Anna Freud, the founder of child psychoanalysis, once said, “It is only when parental feelings are ineffective or too ambivalent or when the mother's emotions are temporarily engaged elsewhere that children feel lost” (“Anna Freud”). In this case, the children, Romeo and Juliet, get lost and confused, leading to their ultimate deaths. While they cannot live without each other, they also cannot live with each other either, since they end up dying together from all the conflicts piling on top on each other. Since Romeo and Juliet do not really have any parental influence in their lives, they do not know how resolve their conflict of star-crossed love. Due to miscommunication, conflicting viewpoints between parents and adolescents, and a lack of involvement in their children’s lives, Shakespeare shows through Romeo and Juliet that adults are ineffective in saving their children’s lives.
This is made very noticeable to us and quite clear to us in Act one
This shows that the nurse is really more like a maternal figure in Juliet’s life. Juliet trusts the Nurse and turns to her for support in times of need, especially after the dispute with her father about marriage. Juliet was upset about the arranged marriage, and she was already married to Romeo, so after her parents left she turned to the nurse for guidance. “O God!-O Nurse, how shall this be prevented?/ My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven…”(Ⅲ,ⅴ,205-206). Juliet asked the Nurse how she can prevent the arranged marriage from happening. She stated that her husband, Romeo, is on earth, but she loves her parents and doesn't want to disappoint them. Juliet had the opportunity to talk to her mother at this part, because her father left giving her the opportunity, however she waited for her mother to leave so
“Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet provides a mimetic resume of this rivalry between English and Italian styles of swordplay."(Saunders) Here Saunders states that we see a summary of the conflict of swordplay styles acted out. The allusion to the “subtext of English swordplay versus Italian fencing…would have been apparent in the drama to Elizabethan audiences, but it is lost on modern viewers.”(Saunders) A modern viewer lacks the background knowledge that an Elizabethan audience would have had. Without this essential knowledge this allusion goes unnoticed to most modern viewers despite the fact that there is ample evidence in the text. Curiosity might lead oneself to ask questions such as: Which houses implement which styles of swordplay and what evidence is there in the text to support this? What swords or other weapons would have been used in each of these styles?
causes more pain than it does happiness. This concept of love, as portrayed by countless works,